Yeah, man!  The Tom Joyner Morning Show did a feature on me and Black Fives this morning!

It was in a segment they do every morning called “Little Known Black History Facts” that airs at about 7:30am.

Guest hosts Kym Whitley and Gary Owen were there to do the honors, sitting in for Tom Joyner.

But I don’t know if they were feuding with each other.

Because Kym was eager to tell the Black Fives story, but Gary cut her off while he was too busy thinking about his next cue.  But then Kym fought Gary off, sticking up for Black Fives, and got through what she really wanted to say.

Thanks Kym!  I love you! :-)

Meanwhile, the soundbite of me talking was pre-recorded a couple of weeks ago during a lengthy telephone conversation I had with the producer.

But this particular soundbite is out of context, because it’s my response to his question about what else I’ve been doing beyond Black Fives.

That’s where I mentioned the new website, Baller-In-Chief.com.

My talking sounds like rambling, to me!  But I didn’t even realize it was gonna be on the air.  Still, that’s no excuse.  Because, what do I always be sayin’?  How you do anything is how you do everything!  So, I’ll listen better to my own advice next time.

Anyway, here’s the audio:

Here is the transcript:

Gary: Alright.  This is Gary Owen …

Kym: And Kym Whitley.

Gary: … sittin’ in on the TJMS.  Now, this “Little Known Black History Fact” is brought to you by McDonald’s, deeply rooted in the community, 365 days a year.

Kym: That’s right.  In 2001 Claude Johnson created Black Fives, Inc., a vintage sports licensing company dedicated to researching, preserving, promoting, and teaching the history of African American basketball teams that played from the early 1990s through integration of the NBA in 1950.  It was a period known as the Black Fives Era.  In 2006 his company signed a multi-year licensing agreement with Nike and Converse to produce a new line of products to celebrate the pioneering teams of the Black Fives Era.  Claude Johnson stays busy.  He is currently working on a book, a film, a documentary, and a museum, all about the Black Fives … but he still has dreams.

Claude: I guess I wanna one day be able to get a tour of the White House or look at their court, or … or even maybe get a chance to play ball with Barack Obama … I think I’m the guy that made up that term “Baller-In-Chief” because we were able to get the URL for it, and now we have a website … you know, I’m gonna try to, not so much promote that but just have that be a useful resource for people who wanna see Barack and basketball as an inspiration for them to go out and play ball or just be athletic, or .. or whatever.

Gary: Comin’ up we got the third number …

Kym: Yeah, but first, can I finish talkin’ about Claude?

Gary: Sorry, I got excited!

Kym: Goodness.  Claude Johnson’s research and tireless passion has earned him recognition and praise for the foremost authority in this area.  His website, BlackFives.com, declares the month of December as Black Women’s Basketball History Month, in honor of the New York Girls, the first independent all-black female basketball team from 1910 … that’s kinda cool though.  I like that.  I’m doin’ the Legacy Awards in January, that’s baseball though, I guess.

Gary: OK.

Kym: Same kinda thing.

Gary: Got it …

Kym: I just …

Gary: Well, yeah, I’m sorry …

Kym: We’re gonna get fired!  That’s what’s gonna happen!

Gary: I’m sorry.  I’m sorry I jumped the gun!  I get excited when they be like, “Gary, you got the third number in the cash call comin’ up,” ’cause I wanna give away some money.  We got the third number in the cash call comin’ up, on the TJMS.  It is 44 minutes past the hour.

Now, the TJMS has, I’m told, about 10 million listeners.

Wow!

So, you might be wondering, how did I get on the Tom Joyner Morning Show?!

I’ll tell you how.  And it was easy.

But I can’t just give out that kind of information all out in public.

No, no, no, no, no! :-)

Instead, I have to do something special, because it’s a story that I think you’ll enjoy.

And I hope it inspires you to do the same thing, or something similar, or better, in your own unique way.

Now, to get the story, you’ll first have to join our Black Fives email list:

1. Just put your name (or nickname) in the box at the top right side of this page, up there where it says “Get updates! Join our list!”
2. Then put your email address in the box below that.
3. Then click the button that says “Join.”

Once you join up, you’ll automatically get an email describing everything I did, with the subject line reading “How I Got On The Tom Joyner Morning Show.”

If you’re already on our list, you don’t need to do anything.  You’ll already be getting the email.